E3 2009: Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Republic Heroes Eyes-On

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Force pushing droids into bottomless pits.

By Charles Onyett

The new Clone Wars game from Lucasarts, a third-person action title, will be set sometime between the first and second seasons of the animated TV show, tossing you into an original story against a new villain Kul Teska. Playing as Jedi heroes like Anakin Skywalker, Obi Wan Kenobi, or Mace Windu, you'll be able to battle droids using lightsabers and powers like force pushing. We didn't get an opportunity to play, but we were told the controls are meant to be simple and accessible to allow anyone of any age range to play.

In total there'll be 8 playable Jedi, and one of the more interesting abilities was called 'droid jacking,' where a Jedi character can jump up on top of a droid and slam their lightsaber through the victim's head. By doing this the Jedi effectively gains control of the droid, allowing them to move around and cause damage while the period of control lasts. This works regardless of what type of droid you target, so it should help make the gameplay feel more varied, particularly if you decide to take advantage of the two-player drop-in, drop-out cooperative gameplay. In Jedi stages you'll also find some simplistic puzzles to be solved using a variety of powers.

If you feel like experiencing something a little different, it's also possible to play as one of 10 clone characters. These guys have a different style and abilities, focusing mostly on utilizing weaponry strewn throughout the stage. They can fire blasters, toss thermal detonators, and pick up special weapons in certain spots like a minigun to wipe out large groups of foes, or rocket launchers. Jetpacks also factor into the combat, letting you float around for a little while above the fray.

Also popping up during levels will be instant challenges, which trigger at certain points during stages. If you enter you'll compete against squadmates in scenarios like battles and races for high scores. In the demo we were given, the visuals looked bright and cartoony and the action fast. The Jedi stage was set on in an old mining facility and for the clone mission we were on a planet in the Naboo system with an acidic atmosphere. In all players can expect 30 unique missions to battle through when the game ships this September for a ton of platforms.

We only saw the console version, so no word on the DS version. According to an official release, though, that game will feature some kind of touch screen functionality. Republic Heroes is also being built for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PSP, PC, and in the United States only, the PlayStation 2.